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“Well, they won’t be matchmaking me since I won’t be in town long.”
“Ah, yes, Saffron’s estate.”
The reason I’m in his office. I need to handle Grandma’s estate.Grandma’s estate. I hate those words since they mean Grandma’s gone. I swallow the giant sized lump in my throat.
He shuffles some papers on his desk. “Shall we get to it?”
I nod since I can’t get any words to come out.
“Do you want me to read her will word for word or get straight to the important stuff?”
I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.
“Important stuff,” I squeak out.
“Saffron left all of her worldly possessions to you. Her house, her stocks and bonds, and any cash remaining in her bank account.”
“Nothing for her daughter? My mom?”
His face softens. “I’m sorry. Saffron made her wishes quite clear. I believe her exact words were ‘my close-minded daughter will get nothing’.”
Sounds like Grandma.
“Do you know what the argument between Grandma and my mom was about?”
I’ve been begging both of them to tell me for years but to no avail. Grandma was as stubborn as a donkey and Mom isn’t much better.
“As far as I know, Saffron didn’t tell anyone what happened.”
My shoulders slump. I’ll never learn the truth now. Mom sure isn’t talking. When I phoned her to inform her of Grandma’s death, she said I was in charge of handling Grandma’s affairs and hung up. I was beyond shocked. My mom and I have never gotten along – not in the way Grandma and I do… did – but she’s never hung up on me before.
At some point, Mom and I need to talk and iron our stuff out. But first, Grandma’s will.
“Grandma had stocks and bonds?”
“I assume you’re aware she sold her bookstore,Fall Into A Good Book,to my eldest daughter a few years ago.”
“Yes.” I knew she sold the bookstore, but I didn’t know to whom.
“Aspen paid cash for the business and your grandmother invested the money in stocks and bonds.” He smiles. “She’s actually done quite well for herself.”
“Grandma didn’t seem the type of person to invest in the stock market.”
“She invested in green energy companies.”
Ah. Now it makes sense. Grandma was one of the original founders of Winter Falls. Although the town began as a hippie commune, the focus quickly changed from peace and free love to all things environmental.
“Okay,” I eventually say as I don’t know what else there is to say.
He raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to know how much her investments are worth?”
I don’t really care. I don’t want Grandma’s money. I want her. I want her to wrap her arms around me in one of her tight hugs I worry will break my ribs. I want her to swat my hand away when I try to steal a piece of pie before dinner. I even want her to ask me one of her thousand embarrassing questions about my sex life.
“The current estimated value of all of Saffron’s stocks and bonds is slightly over five hundred thousand dollars.”
My jaw drops open. I must be hearing things. He did not say Grandma’s investments are worth half a million dollars. No way. No how.
“E-e-excuse me?”
